CDPH Urges Mpox Vaccination in Contra Costa

California health officials are urging people at higher risk for mpox to get vaccinated as cases rise statewide and a Clade I case was confirmed in San Francisco. (cdph.ca.gov) The California Department of Public Health said April 17 that the San Francisco patient was unvaccinated, was hospitalized, and is improving after close contact with someone who had recently traveled internationally to an area where Clade I mpox is circulating. (cdph.ca.gov) State officials said this was California’s seventh identified Clade I case since November 2024 and San Francisco’s first, and they said contact tracing and enhanced surveillance are underway. (cdph.ca.gov) Mpox is a viral infection that usually spreads through close physical contact, including sex, and often causes a rash that can last several weeks. California says the risk to the general public remains low. (cdph.ca.gov) California’s larger concern right now is not only Clade I. The state said Clade II mpox, the form that has circulated in California since 2022, is averaging 14.5 weekly cases in 2026, up from 5.8 in 2024 and 3.4 in 2025. (cdph.ca.gov) Health officials say the same vaccine is used against both forms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says JYNNEOS is a two-dose vaccine, with the second shot given four weeks after the first for best protection. (cdc.gov) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends vaccination for people with a known or suspected exposure, for people whose sex partner was diagnosed in the past two weeks, and for some gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, as well as some transgender and nonbinary people with recent sexual risk factors. (cdc.gov) California has already warned that person-to-person community spread of Clade I was identified in the state in October 2025, after three unrelated Southern California cases with no recent international travel. (cdph.ca.gov) Contra Costa Health’s mpox page says most people recover in two to four weeks, but antiviral treatment may be recommended for people more likely to become severely ill, including patients with weakened immune systems. (cchealth.org) For Contra Costa residents looking for shots, Contra Costa Health says county immunization clinics serve uninsured adults and children eligible for the Vaccines for Children program, while California’s My Turn system lists vaccine appointments statewide. (cchealth.org, myturn.ca.gov) The state’s message before summer travel and large events is to finish the two-dose series before exposure if you are in a higher-risk group, because most of California’s recent infections have been in unvaccinated people. (cdph.ca.gov, cdc.gov)